Alibabki Explained

Alibabki was a Polish all-female vocal band active during 1963-1988 (with a hiatus during the 1980s). All the performers resided in Warsaw. Their major musicals styles were pop music, "big beat", and ska. They performed both as an individual band and as a support group for various musicians. Alone and together with other artists, Alibabki performed about 2000 songs.^[1] Their singing was used in a number of Polish films.^{[2] [3]} Occasionally the group name is incorrectly referred to as Ali-babki.^[4] The band was a recipient of multiple awards.

The name of the band is a pun, a portmanteau of "Ali Baba" and "babki", the latter word being a colloqiallism for "women", an example of exoticism in pop music of Communist Poland. ^[5]

Awards and recognition

• A number of awards from the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, including for the songs „Idzie świt” (1964), „Gdy zmęczeni wracamy z pól” (1965),„To ziemia” (1968), and „Kwiat jednej nocy” (1969)
• 1967: They were backup singers for the award-winning song by Czesław Niemen^[6]
• 2009: Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.^[7]
• 2009: A star for Alibabki was installed at the in Opole^[8]

External links

• Alibabki singing their largest hit, Kwiat jednej nocy, a documentary at the Digital Repository of National Film Library (Repozytorium Cyfrowe Filmoteki Narodowej)

Notes and References

1. https://muzyka.interia.pl/wywiady/news-alibabki-brniemy-dalej-w-to-radosne-szalenstwo,nId,2230643 Alibabki: Brniemy dalej w to radosne szaleństwo
2. Article Ali-Babki, in:, Leksykon Polskiej Muzyki Rozrywkowej, Warszaw, Agencja Wydawnicza Morex, 1995,, pp. 3–4.
3. https://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?osoba=113778 Alibabki (zespół)
4. https://sjp.pwn.pl/poradnia/haslo/Alibabki-czy-Ali-Babki;17948.html "Alibabki czy Ali-Babki?"
5. Ewa Mazierska, "From South to East: Exoticism in Polish popular music of the state socialist period", Popular Music History, vol. 11 no. 1, March 2018, pp. 47-60,
6. http://www.kppg.waw.pl/Strona%202019/etykiety.php?plyta=261 Catalog entry
7. http://www.mkidn.gov.pl/pages/posts/medale_zasluzony_kulturze_-_gloria_artis-319.php Medale Zasłużony Kulturze - Gloria Artis
8. http://www.rp.pl/artykul/319128-Nowe-gwiazdy-w-w-Alei-Gwiazd-w-Opolu.html "Nowe gwiazdy w w Alei Gwiazd w Opolu"